Research

Citation managers streamline your research process by allowing you to collect and organize all of your citations in one, central location. They also help you create bibliographies and in-text citations as you write your paper.

They are particularly useful if you are collecting sources across a wide variety of formats (such as books, websites, articles, etc.) and locations (web, library databases, book catalog, etc.).

Why we recommend Zotero

We like Zotero because it is free, open-source, and private. They provide robust support and documentation about using their software, and they provide thousands of citation styles that are quickly updated to the newest version.

Features of Zotero include:

• Save research with just one click when you install a browser connector
• Save PDFs, images, screenshots, and other files
• Create notes and tags that help you annotate and build connections between sources
• Quickly generate in-text citations and full bibliographies in word-processing programs such as Microsoft Word and Google Docs
• Share group bibliographies with colleagues or students

These are just a few things Zotero can do. If you want to know more, schedule an appointment with one of our librarians for a walk-through of the program.

Other Citation Managers

• EndNote is a sophisticated reference manager that provides the largest storage and most citation options. You can use EndNote for a 30-day free trial but will have to pay for access after that. EndNote may be the most useful software if you often write systematic reviews or need to access your library across many devices.
• Mendeley is a free software (for the basic version) that also easily connects to social networks. It offers the ability to highlight and annotate PDFs within a proprietary viewer. Mendeley may be best if you work in a science or technology field.